Channel firms recognised in top workplace awards

Microsoft, Softcat, UKFast, NetApp and EMC among some of best employers according to the Great Place To Work awards

Resellers and vendors showed strongly at the Great Places To Work awards last night, with Microsoft, Rackspace, Softcat and UKFast all coming in the top five of their respective categories.

The Great Place To Work awards, which were held at the Tower of London last night, are judged primarily by employees' opinion of their workplace, which makes up two thirds of the scoring. The final third is based on independent analysis of company programmes and practices in comparison to other firms.

In the category for large businesses, which counts as a firm with more than 500 staff, Microsoft came in third place, while Rackspace sneaked in at fourth and EMC came in 12th. Microsoft UK's HR director Theresa McHenry said the firm aims to become the UK's best workplace, and feedback from staff helps with this ambition.

In the mid-size category, which counts as companies which employ between 50 and 499 staff, Softcat came in fourth place, followed closely by UKFast in fifth. Both companies also appeared in the Real Business Hot 100 rankings of the fastest-growing UK firms last week. Elsewhere in this category NetApp came in 11th place, with Peer 1 Hosting coming in 19th position.

Softcat's HR and recruitment manager Shelley Ferrigno said: "We strive for integration and a sense of togetherness. Managers sit with their teams rather than in separate offices, which provides every employee with immediate support, and cultivates a strong team ethic.

"We hold a company-wide meeting every week, engaging all employees in our vision. When employees have a stake in a company – emotionally or otherwise – they have a greater sense of reward and satisfaction from the work they do."

In the small-business category – firms with between 20 and 49 staff – IT solutions provider CTG came in 25th place.